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tech can cause delays - you don’t want your customer hanging up because, “it wasn’t important anyway” or they ran out of time due to another meeting.
3. Make your content accessible any time Working busy schedules around set times for physical events, industry exhibitions or webinars have always been commonplace in the B2B sector. Events in particular have long been an important way to connect with customers and potential customers face-to-face, building new relationships or solidifying existing relationships to generate demand.
Even though the ‘face-to- face’ part has changed, the importance of events has not. Sales teams have adjusted to virtual events to launch new products, showcase new techniques and to generate demand for products and solutions.
To be successful these events need to hold the participants’ attention, with succinct messages and to add value to the audience, because unlike previously where they had invested in travel they can now just close their browser if the event does not hold their interest.
So perhaps just as important, and which relates back to point one, is now opening up ‘attendance’ and consumption of information presented during events to be less scheduled and more in line with f lexible working.
Webinars might be yielding good results, but new insight shows that customers are more engaged in their own time; during a commute, during a daily walk or early morning/ evening. Giving customers the ability to watch a live presentation or discussion in a less time-sensitive way can be an important means to increase their engagement.
Similarly, think about podcasts, recorded videos, whitepapers; ask ‘what alternative formats can you provide that mean there are multiple opportunities for your customers to focus their time on you?’
4. Put greater importance on your search visibility and IA While not strictly a recent shift, customers predominantly use Google as their search engine over searching for content on a specific site (often ‘in the moment” of a specific task). To be on the consideration list as a product or service provider in your area of expertise, it’s vital that your content ranks high via search and that platforms are visible through optimisation for search, and intuitive interfaces.
Customers often need their question answering and they need it done now. If your outreach and other efforts haven’t engaged their attention, then content via Google might when they’re ready to consider it will.
5. CRM is now more important than ever We’re now in a time where customer interactions are
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more digital than ever, and digital means traceable (more often than not).
Make sure your CRM is capturing as much of your customers’ interactions as possible to fuel personalisation and create new opportunities to engage.
Tools such as Salesforce’s Einstein, an AI assistant for the Salesforce CRM, provide recommendations for the next action with a prospect; and the richer the data, the more accurate this can be.
Developing campaigns targeted towards the right customer at the right time is critical to success. Providing different types of content will help to target these customers and build interest in your offering.
“As the battle to adapt goes on, remember the new rules of engagement”
All of these changes mean that, as sales teams, we must accurately communicate the value of our products and solutions to get prospective customers interested, and to keep existing customers engaged.
And above all, with any current approach, a greater understanding of an audience’s needs and requirements is more critical than ever. There’s no substitute for research.
Empathy goes a long way. And if you can create techniques that are personalised and relevant, and also deliver value, engagement levels – and hopefully sales - will rise.
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